Flavor you can see

Having visual representations of dishes can be helpful. Our Superdiners’ take on local spots with great photos on their menus and other food illustrations:

The Loving Hut (1905 El Cajon Blvd., North Park. 619-683-9490 or
lovinghut.com) has a fun, colorful, campy menu, straight from the 1950s. I especially like the pictures of the vegan drinks and desserts. “Be veg, go green, save the planet,” says the Supreme Master Ching Hai, who owns the international chain!

I’ve always been a huge fan of dessert carts or tray displays, where waiters roll or carry out prototypes of what’s for dessert. Extra points when the desserts are re-created in mashed potatoes or lard and other ingredients designed to stand the test of time. (Even more points when there’s a dent in one of the faux desserts from a spoon the waiter mistakenly dropped on it.) Alas, faux desserts appear to be a lost art in San Diego. (Have we seen the last “Michelangelo of Mashed Potatoes”?) Thankfully the art survives, albeit barely, at Harry’s Bar (4370 La Jolla Village Drive, La Jolla. 858-373-1252 or
harrysbarandamericangrill.com). Harry’s actually serves really great desserts and is a favorite lunch spot of mine. The display tray’s ice cream — and occasionally an entire dessert replica — is constructed from other ingredients.

I’ve lived in both Singapore and Hawaii, and San Diego’s fake-food scene is tame comparatively! I’d say the Asian markets, restaurants and bakeries of Kearny Mesa reign supreme in offering visually fun/gross/weird/tasty-looking representations of food. The markets there are stimulating from the get-go, like Mitsuwa (4240 Kearny Mesa Road, Kearny Mesa. 858-569-6699 or
mitsuwa.com), Nijiya (3860 Convoy St., Kearny Mesa. 858-268-3821 or nijiya.com) and Marukai (8111 Balboa Ave., Kearny Mesa. 858-384-0240 or marukai.com) as well as 99 Ranch (7330 Clairemont Mesa Blvd., Kearny Mesa. 858-974-8899 or 99ranch.com), and Zion (4611 Mercury St., Kearny Mesa. 858-268-3300 or zionmarket.com). My senses are assaulted the moment I enter the stores — from the food displays, music and smells coming from the in-market cafes/bakeries. (We are lucky to have so many great ethnic markets here; I only listed some Asian ones.) I also like the photos from Big Joy Family Bakery (4176 Convoy St., Kearny Mesa. 858-627-0888 or bigjoyfamily.com) and their French/Gerbet macarons are fantastic. Tapioca Express (various locations, tapiocaexpress.com) has a visually delightful menu that takes me five minutes to get through.

I really like Yakitori Yakyudori (4898 Convoy St., Kearny Mesa, 858-268-2888). My fellow martial artists and I go there every Wednesday night for ramen — their spicy miso ramen is great and the place feels like you are in Japan, especially the menus with pictures and the coat hangers around the room.